A Turkish prosecutor is seeking a total of 45 years in prison for 20 suspects, who are charged with spying on Palestinian nationals and Hamas-linked people targeted by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

The public prosecutor in Istanbul filed a lawsuit on Monday against some 20 suspects, 16 of whom are under arrest, on charges of committing "international espionage" and transferring intelligence on foreign nationals living in Türkiye to a Mossad unit of online operations.

The prosecutor’s indictment said the defendants seized private information, including addresses and footage, of Palestinian citizens and people linked to Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group ruling the besieged Gaza Strip, in Türkiye on behalf of Mossad.

The Israeli agency unit "utilized" the suspects for remotely obtaining sources, surveilling its targets, including taking photographs and videos, as well as other tactical jobs such as following, battery, robbery or kidnapping, according to the indictment.

The suspects especially tried to discover places or addresses where people targeted by Israel gather or live in Türkiye, it said.

"Therefore, it is possible the next steps could have been the execution or abduction of these individuals," the prosecution said, adding that official phone records made it evident the suspects earned advantages and made money in exchange for their activities for Mossad.

According to the indictment, the defendants were paid via direct money transfers, Western Union or in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the jobs they did for Israeli intelligence.

A swathe of evidence in the indictment includes conversations the suspects made with phone numbers belonging to the Mossad unit, as well as footage on their phones and bank receipts.

Mossad contacted the defendants through communication applications and job postings on social media platforms to seize information on its targets. The agency later used seven different phone numbers to contact the suspects without ever making any video or audio phone calls.

Suspect statements

In his statement included in the indictment, one of the suspects, Amal Sallami Ep Siala, claimed he met a man who introduced himself as Mustafa living in Germany and confessed to sending him a "test video" after he told Siala he would pay him for "doing certain jobs."

Siala said he was accepted for the job but later lost contact with Mustafa and instead began contacting an individual named Samir Ferat, who wanted him to film the interior and exterior of Istanbul landmark Süleymaniye Mosque and pictures of a gated community complex in the northwestern Başakşehir district.

Ferat claimed he wanted the pictures because he was sick and sent the footage to his wife. He paid Siala nearly 450 euros (TL 17,009) in exchange.

According to his testimony, Siala also sent in a report about two GSM companies, and which one provides better service.

He claimed he hadn’t known what Mossad was, insisting the pictures on his phone were not sent for "espionage" and that he sent them to "make money."

He said he doesn’t believe Ferat asked him for the pictures for espionage. "I think he made such a request to make Türkiye look more appealing for the clients of his company," he said.

Siala also claimed he had a friend named Ali who met a man named Abu Sajced who told Ali he needed "a lot of money" to go into a dry goods business to make shipments to the Middle East.

"I recorded this conversation on my phone. Ali told me the individual named Abu Sajced was working for Mossad," Siala said.

According to the indictment, another suspect, Hazem Mounir Amin Elgayyar, tried without arrest, worked as a medical assistance personnel at the health directorate in the Fatih district and took care of many people in need arriving from Palestine.

He gathered information about these individuals and transferred them to the Israeli intelligence.

The defendants face prison time from 18 years, nine months to 45 years each for "political or military espionage."

The 26th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul has accepted the indictment against the suspects, who will face a judge in a hearing likely scheduled for November.

Mossad activity

As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country.

Since January, authorities have detained or arrested and charged dozens of people suspected of having ties to Israel’s Mossad. Six people were charged in March.

They are accused of recruiting Turkish nationals and people of other nationalities living in the country to spy on Palestinians, particularly people associated with the resistance group Hamas.

A Kosovan national identified as manager of Mossad’s financial network in Türkiye was arrested by Istanbul police late last month.

Mossad is said to have also recruited Palestinians and Syrian nationals in Türkiye as part of an operation against foreigners living in Türkiye.

Türkiye and Israel resumed frozen relations last year after years of tensions due to Israel's acts of aggression targeting Palestinians. Yet, ties deteriorated again after Oct. 7, the start of the new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Ankara is one of the strongest critics of Israel's military actions in Gaza.

The head of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency said in December that his organization was prepared to target Hamas anywhere, including in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar.

Turkish and Israeli leaders have traded public barbs since Israel's war on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas began in October.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Israel of "serious consequences" if Israel pressed ahead with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil.